2026

This session will cover adequate protection, non-pro rata roll-ups, equitizing DIPs and more. The panelists will discuss the latest and most crucial DIP-financing issues, the matters most frequently litigated, and their effects on mega-chapter 11 bankruptcy cases.Learning ObjectivesAttendees will understand recent developments in DIP financing, including adequate protection, non-pro rata roll-ups, and equitizing DIP structures.Attendees will examine key issues most frequently litigated in large Chapter 11 cases, including contested DIP terms and structuring disputes.Attendees will analyze emerging trends in DIP financing and their impact on case strategy in mega Chapter 11 proceedings.

This panel will explore recent developments affecting chapter 11 plan confirmation issues, including the evolving standards for consensual releases, gatekeeper provisions, and insights from the ConvergeOne decision. The panelists will also examine the impact of market uncertainty on business projections and analyze chapter 11 plan implications arising from pre-petition liability-management exercises (LMEs).Learning ObjectivesAttendees will understand recent developments in Chapter 11 plan confirmation, including evolving standards for consensual releases, gatekeeper provisions, and key rulings such as ConvergeOne.Attendees will examine the impact of prepetition liability management exercises (LMEs) and market uncertainty on plan structure and business projections.Attendees will analyze practical implications of confirmation-related issues for structuring and negotiating Chapter 11 plans.

This panel will discuss recent trends and issues in cross-border cases, including the impact of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Purdue Pharma, the continuing trend of foreign airlines reorganizing in the U.S., how updates to foreign insolvency systems have made restructuring outside the U.S. a more regular occurrence for multinational companies, and creative uses for chapter 15 when a plenary chapter 11 proceeding is not available or advisable.Learning ObjectivesAttendees will understand current developments in cross-border restructuring, including Chapter 11 and Chapter 15 filings involving foreign entities and U.S. companies restructuring abroad.Attendees will examine emerging and novel uses of Chapter 15, including strategies addressing third-party releases, cannabis-related restructurings, and involuntary proceedings against foreign debtors.Attendees will analyze practical and strategic issues in international insolvency proceedings, including jurisdictional challenges and coordination across legal systems.

Moderated by ABI’s Bill Rochelle, seven bankruptcy judges from New York, Delaware, Houston and New Jersey will predict how the Supreme Court is likely to rule on the most controversial issues in reorganization, Subchapter V and Chapter 13.Learning ObjectivesAttendees will gain insight into how bankruptcy judges view emerging and contentious issues in reorganization cases, Subchapter V, and Chapter 13.Attendees will explore judicial perspectives on how the Supreme Court may approach unresolved or split issues in bankruptcy practice.Attendees will examine practical implications of differing judicial interpretations for debtors, creditors, and case strategy.

This session will address common factors that can lead to testimony from damages and valuation experts being excluded, along with recent trends and notable court opinions. The panelists will start by covering the legal standards for the admission of expert testimony, including substantive expertise, relevance, reliability and adequate foundation. Next, we will describe common technical mistakes that have led to exclusion or other problems, such as applying a premise or standard of value not appropriate to the situation at hand (e.g., liquidation value when going-concern value is more appropriate, synergistic value when fair value is the legally required standard, current value when solvency must be evaluated as of a specific prior date), double-counting damages for lost profits and lost business value over the same period of time, offering a valuation based on information that would not have been known or knowable as of the effective date of the valuation, failing to track documents reviewed in accordance with applicable rules, and reliance on privileged materials not available to the opposing party. After covering legal and technical issues, the panelists will use case studies and panel discussion to summarize current trends in the admission or exclusion of expert testimony, including recent opinions in which a federal or state court excluded a financial expert or limited the scope of his or her testimony. Finally, alternative approaches will be presented that might have allowed the experts from our case studies to have offered testimony similar to what was excluded.Learning Objectives:Attendees will analyze the legal standards governing the admissibility of valuation and damages expert testimony, including relevance, reliability, and methodological rigor.Attendees will evaluate common pitfalls that lead to exclusion of expert testimony, including improper assumptions, double-counting of damages, reliance on hindsight, and use of privileged or inadmissible information.Attendees will assess best practices for strengthening expert valuation reports, including documentation, support for assumptions, and alignment with accepted valuation methodologies.

As valuation uncertainty increases, the need to value optionality increases. But what are valuable options, and what are not? All options are opportunities, but not all opportunities are options. This session aims to better enable you to distinguish between valuable options and opportunities, and to provide a framework for valuing them. The panelists measure its success by the number of attendees who are able to draw option-payoff diagrams on cocktail napkins at a happy hour.Learning Objectives:Attendees will analyze the concept of real options and distinguish between general business opportunities and option-like strategic rights with measurable value.Attendees will evaluate frameworks for identifying, structuring, and valuing managerial flexibility under conditions of uncertainty.Attendees will apply real option valuation concepts, including payoff structures and decision trees, to practical restructuring and investment scenarios.

This panel will discuss the benefits and risks of using AI for valuation, the applicability of certain AI tools to class action lawsuits, and the legal aspects of using AI in the context of bankruptcy and valuation.Learning Objectives:Attendees will analyze the benefits and limitations of using artificial intelligence tools in the valuation of companies, including impacts on accuracy, efficiency, and transparency.Attendees will evaluate the legal and evidentiary considerations associated with the use of AI-generated outputs in bankruptcy proceedings and class action litigation contexts.Attendees will assess emerging risks, including bias, reliability, and defensibility concerns, in the application of AI-driven valuation methodologies.

This panel provides an overview of the history of monetization of creative libraries, recent transactions, impact of AI, streaming, and other factors regarding copyright and valuation methodology. Additionally, the panelists provide an introduction into music licensing, specifically who owns each type of copyright and when each type of license is needed; a brief history of selling copyrights, from securitizing (Bowie Bonds) more recent catalog sales, including the recent $1 billion partnership between The Weeknd and Lyric Capital; and a general discussion of how catalog sales are valued.Learning Objectives:Attendees will understand the evolution of music and performance rights monetization, including key historical developments from early copyright structures to securitization and modern catalog sales.Attendees will identify the different types of music copyrights and licenses, including ownership distinctions and when specific licenses are required in practice.Attendees will analyze current valuation methodologies for music catalogs, including the impact of streaming, artificial intelligence, and recent high-profile transactions on pricing and deal structure.

Liability management exercises (LMEs) have become a central feature of the restructuring landscape, offering companies flexible, out-of-court solutions to address balance-sheet stress. Yet as these transactions grow more sophisticated, they increasingly raise a fundamental question: Who determines enterprise value when the deal happens outside chapter 11? Without a court-supervised valuation process, value is shaped through negotiation leverage, capital structure design, cooperation agreements, and financial engineering tools such as uptiers, dropdowns and priming transactions. These techniques can optimize outcomes for participating creditors and companies, but they can also spark valuation disputes, litigation risk and longer-term stakeholder friction. This panel examines how valuation is constructed in out-of-court LMEs, and will provide a framework for evaluating whether an LME enhances enterprise value or merely redistributes it.Learning Objectives:Attendees will analyze how enterprise value is determined in liability management exercises conducted outside of Chapter 11, including the role of negotiation dynamics and capital structure design.Attendees will evaluate the impact of common LME techniques—such as uptiers, dropdowns, and priming transactions—on creditor recoveries and overall enterprise value.Attendees will assess the legal and practical risks associated with out-of-court valuation, including potential disputes, litigation exposure, and intercreditor conflicts

Andrew D. Bishop of Signum Global Advisors examines the evolving global landscape through the lens of the U.S.'s current “America First” policy and its implications for modern economic and political influence. The keynote explores how shifting geopolitical priorities, strategic competition among major powers, and the reemergence of economic nationalism are reshaping global markets and cross-border relationships. Learn how these developments influence financial systems, international investments and the broader restructuring environment to help you navigate an increasingly complex and uncertain world order.Learning Objectives:Attendees will analyze the key drivers behind the shift toward "America First" policies and their impact on global economic and political dynamics.Attendees will evaluate how geopolitical tensions and economic nationalism influence cross-border restructuring, capital flows, and market stability.Attendees will identify emerging risks and opportunities for practitioners arising from changes in the global geopolitical and economic landscape.